The Odyssey of the Other Prodigal Son
by TheNewIdea
Summary: Donatello goes off to find purpose, Raphael pursues his love for April and Splinter tried to hold on to the family he has. Along the way they will each learn an important lesson, one that cannot be learned until you stop looking for the answers. Note: This is all about roles, not characters. The point is to think about the roles that people fulfill in stories and media.
1. Prologue

Donatello packed the last of his things in a burlap sack. He didn't have a lot to begin with, just a few beakers, a test tube, a porno magazine, a box of Trojans, a pack of Marlboros, a lighter, a half eaten tuna sandwich, a single jigsaw puzzle piece, a decent amount of money and his stave. Looking around the empty room Donnie let out a heavy sigh and smiled, he knew that this day was coming, that eventually he would leave the sewers far behind.

Walking into the main room Donnie could see Michelangelo, contently sleeping on the couch in what served as the living room. Master Splinter had been kind enough to allow electricity in the sewer, and so the existence of TV, which was stuck on static in front of the couch, doing nothing as if it was always that way.

"Goodnight Mikey" Donnie said as he picked up a discarded blanket, covering his brother up, for Mikey was shivering. "I'll see you around."

Donnie turned around; across the room he could see Splinter's chambers. The rat was curled up in a ball on a rug in the middle of the floor. Making his way into the small room, nothing more than a broom closet, Donnie covered Splinter up in the warmest fleece he could find, his own, and gently rubbed Splinter's shoulder as he turned and walked away, saying nothing.

Walking down the hallway, or glorified sewer pipe, as Raph called it, Donnie passed Leonardo and Raphael's rooms. He gave them each a second, a slight knock on the door with his stave and a single cigarette from his pack. After this Donnie reached the ladder to the surface and climbed up.

Reaching the surface Donnie could smell the air, it was fresh and clean, as if he had just taken a hot shower. He laughed to himself as he thought about what he was doing; he couldn't see any other way of doing it. It was simply easier if he faded away out of their lives as quickly and quietly as possible. In an attempt to be inconspicuous, and the fact that he was hungry, Donnie headed for the local pizza parlor, where his favorite pizza guy, Gerald, was working the night shift.

Gerald was your average guy. He wasn't anything special or interesting; the only real thing that should concern you about him was that he wore glasses too big for his head, which was already big enough and that he always wore a white T-shirt with the pizza logo on it, as if that was where he lived and worked at the same time. He was the guy who had everything sorted out and yet still for some reason, was in a pizza parlor making pizzas when he could have been at Harvard studying law or at Fail Sail University learning how to make movies. It made little difference, for Gerald was, by all accounts save for Donnie, a complete and total loser.

The pizza parlor was the typical New York style pizza parlor, red and white checkered tile, walls that matched and tables that were less than clean. The counter was to the right of the door, what tables there were, were placed on the opposite side against the wall. The bathroom in the back of the building smelt almost as bad as the sewer did, flies could be seen hovering before the door.

Donnie set his back down on the floor, causing Gerald to look up in his direction.

"Don?" Gerald began, his voice full of surprise, "What are you doing here? Aren't you worried that someone will see you?"

Donnie laughed, "Doesn't matter now" he replied, "I'm leaving town. Don't expect to be coming back."

Gerald raised his eyebrows worriedly; Donnie guessed that Gerald was thinking about the repercussions that this move would have on his brothers. Donnie himself thought about what he would face, what the others would say. In the end he decided that he didn't care.

"What about Leo?" Gerald asked curiously, "Mikey...Raph? Won't they miss yah? What would Splinter say?"

Donnie cut him off before he could continue, for he already had an answer.

"Don't start" he began, "I already know. They'll try and get me to come back, odds are as soon as they find out I'm gone they'll plan a guilt trip speech that they'll say, one at a time. Splinter will start, as he always does. Leo will then pick up where he left off, adding on how I'm a valuable member of the team. Raph and Mikey will then swap stories of how I saved everyone's asses and like an idiot I will cave, letting my emotions get the better of me until I rejoin the group."

Gerald huffed, for Donnie's account of the encounter was strange, as if it happened before. Donnie pulled out his stave and looked at it, remembering the first time that he held it in his hands, how it was the only thing in his life that was constant. Donnie also noticed, near the top of the weapon, that his brothers and Master Splinter had each made their mark, the first letter of their names were neatly engraved as if the task was important and carried meaning.

"You're a Turtle" Gerald exclaimed finally, "You are Donatello, the guy who keeps everyone together."

Donnie huffed, in his mind Gerald might have been talking to air.

"That's Leo" Donnie corrected, "He's the leader, he keeps everyone together...I'm just the technical support. Expendable, for anyone can figure out a computer, how to use the technology that I do, in time...all it takes is training, you don't even have to be ninja, just a guy stupid enough to take risks and do whatever it is the others tell you."

Gerald shook his head in denial, "You say that as if you don't matter Don."

Donnie laughed, for Gerald was sounding like Splinter, speaking the honest truth and yet still off the mark in many regards.

Donnie shook his head, "It's not about that" he explained, "It's about respect. It's about going through life and living it. To see the world, things dangerous to come to. To see behind walls, draw closer and to find each other and to feel. That is the purpose of life."

Gerald scratched his head for a moment, trying to figure out what Donnie was talking about.

"It's LIFE's motto" Donnie explained, after a few seconds, "To see the world, things dangerous to come to...I always liked that, now I'm trying to figure what it means."

Gerald laughed at this, "What your deal?" he asked sarcastically, "You having a mid life crisis or something?"

Donnie laughed in turn, "I'm 24 Gerald, I'd hardly call that mid-life. Especially in my case. No...I'm trying to find a place to be, where I can be of use."

Gerald walked to the back room and turned off the kitchen lights, he was slowly beginning to close up for the night, for he had been there for the past six hours and was extremely tried.

"And you think that being with your brothers isn't being somewhere?" Gerald began again in an attempt to get Donnie to reconsider his options.

Donnie shook his head, for he knew where Gerald was going and wasn't even remotely interested. "Nothing you can say will change my mind" he retorted, "I'm getting out of here. If you see the others, tell them that I'm sorry. Tell them anything expect the truth. But then again, the message is clear isn't it?"

Donnie walked over to the nearest table and sat down; he then ordered a small pepperoni pizza, a Diet Coke and plate of nacho chips. He wasn't particular if the chips went with the pizza or not, it was just something to have. In reality it was a little bit more, for Raph, whenever he ate pizza, always took the pepperoni. Mikey would have a Diet Coke and Leo would order a plate of nachos. In this way Donnie felt as if he had his brothers with him, sitting down and talking as if nothing had changed.

"Where did we go wrong?" Donnie thought to himself, "How did it get to be this bad?"

He would get no answer, at least, not an immediate one. Twenty minutes later Donnie finished his meal, which remained uneventful, and walked out of the pizza parlor. He did not say goodbye to Gerald or even look in his general direction, he just picked up his stave, paid for his food and left.

Sitting on an empty subway train heading to the outskirts of the city, Donnie looked at his watch that he always kept, it was just now 5:30 in the morning, his brothers would be getting up for training in the next five minutes if they weren't already up. Splinter would greet them once and then go out for the day, not to be seen again until the late hours of the afternoon, by which time Leo and Mikey would have already taken care of business and Raph would have done whatever it was that he had to do that day, for today was Monday and Mondays were Raph's personal days.

Donnie figured that they wouldn't even notice he was gone until they needed something from him, it would well after Splinter came home from daily activities and well after the evening training, which Donnie never took part in, for he preferred to train during the day, while everyone else was gone. It made Donnie sad to think that this would happen, but it wasn't like he cared anyway. He refused to be stopped by anyone, even himself; Donnie knew that this was what he had to do. If he would have known what the outcome of this would be, he would've done it sooner.


	2. The Places We Go to Find Ourselves

Chapter One

The Places We Go to Find Ourselves

Leo, Raph and Mikey entered the main room of their home to begin their early morning training session. Leo and Raph, understandably, did not notice the gift that Donnie had left them, simply crushing them haphazardly as if it meant nothing.

"Hey Mikey" Leo exclaimed warmly as he pulled out his katanas, "How's it going?"

Mikey shrugged indifferently, "Could be better Leo" he answered.

"Really" Leo asked curiously, "How so?"

Mikey laughed and shook his head, "I could be getting a blow job from a stripper right now."

Leo laughed, "At 5:30 in the morning, really?"

Mikey continued laughing, for he loved it that Leo thought about the time of day instead of the activity, as if that was something normal that happened on a regular, everyday basis.

"Why not?" Mikey defended, "I mean if she's willing, sure. Hell, even if she's not I'll do it."

Leo raised his eyebrows, for now Mikey was entering unspoken territory.

"You just described rape "Leo pointed out, "Are you sure you're okay?"

Mikey nodded, "Only joking there. But seriously though, if she's willing, I don't care what time of day it is."

Raph rolled his eyes in disgust, he hated that Mikey and Leo talked about sex, and the exact opposite, rape, in such light and playful tones. The way Raph saw it, sex was an intimate, special thing, something that happened between two people who loved each other unconditionally, or at least enough to give it some thought. Rape was an entirely different matter, Raph saw it as a crime that it was, an immoral and unjust action that takes away something.

_"They can't have what you've already given and saved for someone else"_ Raph thought to himself, _"It will bring many things, mostly pain. But the one thing that it must not bring, under any circumstances, is weakness and fear...Because if they have that, then they've already won."_

Splinter walked into the room moments later, his face was dead, displaying no clear emotion. The rat's eyes were downcast and wet, it appeared that he had been crying and had been doing so for a long time. Splinter's legs began to shake, as if at any minute he would collapse on the floor.

"Master" Raph said, concern showing in his voice, "Are you okay?"

Splinter nodded but gave no other response as he let go of the blanket, Raph watched it fall to the ground and land in a small puddle of water.

"Donatello..." Splinter exclaimed, his voice hoarse and barely audible, "Check his room."

Raph nodded and walked across the room to Donnie's door. Looking inside he found several of Donnie's things, many of them prized souvenirs from the Turtle's adventures, scattered about the room. On the dresser were several pictures, most of them had cracked faces, of these there was one in particular that caught Raph's eye.

The picture was of Raph and Donnie, holding their weapons victoriously as they stood on top of a city rooftop. The picture stood out for several reasons, the main one being that it was the only picture that had Raph smiling from ear to ear, capturing a single moment of happiness and joy that was not the result of the aftermath of a fight with the Foot or monsters that frequently attacked the city. It was a moment of true happiness, one that came from Donnie, who always seemed to find a way to make things better, even in the darkest hours of the night.

"You don't have to be this way" Raph whispered to himself, repeating Donnie's words, "I know. I understand. I'm angry too...I'm angry all the time. Not a day goes by that I don't want to hit something just for the hell of it. And sometimes I do, I do hit things, but most times I don't...Most times I just breathe, go inside of myself and realize that I'm the one with the problem. It's not the world, or the people you have the most contact with, it's you."

A single tear made its way down Raph's cheek; he let it fall, no longer caring who saw him.

"I pray every night-" Raph continued as he looked around the room, finally sitting on the bed, "that when I wake up I'll be just like you Raph..."

He stopped for a moment, eventually Raph found himself mediating, taking a periodic breath after a few seconds of holding it. Splinter walked into the room, he didn't even have to look in the room to tell that Donnie was gone, Raph's mediation and the streaks on his cheeks was proof enough. This only caused Splinter to sit on the ground where he stood and join Raph in the mediation.

"Donnie's gone" Raph said gravely, he was mostly talking to himself, for he knew that Donnie's departure was obvious to anyone who looked in the room.

Splinter nodded, keeping his eyes closed as he attempted to find inner peace, "So he is Raphael. I never thought this would happen- that he would be the one to leave. It is surprisingly painful."

Raphael laughed sarcastically as he partially opened his eyes, temporarily breaking his mediation.

"You thought it was going to be me" Raph began, "You've always thought that didn't you? Don't lie to me Master, you know it and I know it, we're done fucking with ourselves."

Splinter immediately broke his mediation and stood up. Wiping his wet eyes on his sleeve Splinter smiled and gave an honest, but completely pointless, answer.

"You have a heart like I've never seen before Raphael" Splinter replied, "Remember this always-Love is the greatest weapon you could possess. Use it well."

Raphael sighed and shook his head, "You didn't answer my question" he said annoyingly, "You knew that it was going to me. Out of all of us you knew, deep down in that tiny fucking rat heart of yours that I was the one who was going to leave and never come back. How the tables have turned."

Splinter said nothing and turned away, walking back to the main room. Raph rolled his eyes, for it was obvious that the rat was avoiding the issue as if it were nothing.

"Might as well have been talking to damn air" Raph continued to himself, "Can you believe that Donnie, Splinter just blew me off for no good-"

Raph stopped himself again when he looked around and saw that he was alone. His eyes found themselves staring at the picture once more. Picking it up Raph began to cry steady tears, saying nothing and allowing the silence to engulf him, deafening Raph to the cares of the world for a few minutes. It was almost graceful, the silence, to be in one place and yet spiritually nowhere.

_"Love is the greatest weapon you can possess."_ Raph thought to himself_, "It can give breath to life, if it is strong enough. It can shape nations, topple mountains...and at the same time it can destroy, bringing on the Legions of Hell. It can bring great men and women down and it can produce all that is bad. That is why it is, without a doubt, more powerful than the atomic bomb."_

Leo made his way into the room, casually tapping the door with his sword in an attempt to get Raph's attention. Raph was too lost in himself to pay Leo any mind, causing the latter to roll his eyes and usher April O'Neil, an investigative journalist and one of the few people who knew of the Turtles' existence, into the room.

April was wearing a red shirt with black pants, she was obviously dressed for a party or other social gathering, for she was wearing the expensive perfume that Raph had got her to ward off the smell of the sewer. April's earrings, made of knock off diamonds that looked pretty, a gift from Leo, occasionally glimmered in the florescent light that came from Donnie's ceiling. Her shoes, small black platforms, sounded throughout the sewer with each step April took, letting her presence be known to anyone with open ears. Raph remained indifferent; he didn't even bother looking up, for he saw no one. His senses were almost completely shut down as he continued to go deeper and deeper into the recesses of his mind.

"Hey you" April said playfully as she sat on the bed, "What's wrong big guy? You need a hug?"

Leo gave April a glaring look, telling her that the situation was serious. April interpreted this and immediately changed tactics, she gently kissed Raph's cheek and gave him the biggest bear hug she could give. Raph, almost instinctively, returned the embrace, throwing the picture in the far corner of the room, smashing the frame to pieces.

"Damn" Leo whispered, "Is it that bad?"

Raph blinked for a few moments, his eyes were as wet as Splinter's were. He only nodded in response.

"Donnie's gone Leo" Raph exclaimed hoarsely

Leo laughed; it was the kind of laugh that one gave when someone had obviously forgotten something, something that was so simple it was almost insulting that the aforementioned someone didn't think of it in the first place.

"Then call him, genius" Leo said as he pulled out his cell phone, tossing it to Raph, "We have fucking cell phones you know."

Raph stared at Leo in disbelief as Leo made his way out of the room saying nothing. April, seeing Raph's state, took the phone from his hands and dialed Donnie's number, both of them began praying, April for there to be an answer and Raph for himself. Casually, almost in a comfortably familiar way, Raph wrapped his right arm around her, wiping his eyes with his left, he then began to breathe once more.


	3. Love: The Double-Edged Sword of Life

Chapter Two

Love: The Double-Edged Sword of Life

Donnie entered a New Jersey airport on the Philadelphia side, for entering on the New York side would make him easily traceable. Just as he was about to walk through the door, his cell phone rang. Looking at the caller ID, Donnie was tempted to let it go, for he knew that Leo would be trying to get him to come back. It wouldn't be so easy, for Donnie had many reasons for leaving, one of them being the stereotypical and long task of finding oneself through a self discovering journey.

"Donnie?" a voice, obviously Raph's, said as the phone went to voice mail, "Please pickup..."

This was followed by a long sigh. After a few seconds Raph continued.

"I know that you probably want nothing to do with me. That's okay. I understand. I know what it's like; you gotta go out on your own and do your own thing. I think that's real good of yah. As long as you know that you can come back Donnie, that's all that matters. Good luck Stick-"

Donnie could tell that that Raph was shaking, his voice was different, almost cracking, throughout the one sided conversation. Before Raph could finish, Donnie turned off his phone and proceeded to go through airport security.

One of the security guards looked at Donnie with surprise, for he had never seen a mutant before, let alone a mutant turtle. The security guard, Frank Walters, a ten year veteran at the airport, was a stout man of 46; he still had a full head of black hair that would quickly change to grey within the coming years, his glasses with the thin frame hung precariously on his nose and his mustache, which was neatly trimmed, followed his mouth as it drooped down, completely stupefied.

"What the hell are you?" Frank asked curiously as he walked over, trying to maintain his composure as he pulled out his nightstick.

Donnie raised his hands innocently in the air, for the last thing he wanted to do was cause trouble.

"Take it easy" Donnie answered, "I'm just a mutated turtle from New York traveling to Los Angeles. Nothing special, just your average, everyday, normal, non threatening turtle looking for some time alone. Is that too much to ask?"

Frank nodded. "It is" Frank answered, "Especially since I have no idea who you are."

Donnie rolled his eyes annoyingly, for he felt as if he were repeating himself at this point.

"Look old timer I don't have time for this" Donnie exclaimed as he put his stave through the conveyer belt, only for the alarm to go off, just like he expected it to.

Frank nodded and shook his head pitifully as one of the other guards handed him the stave. Donnie immediately began to tense up; still he decided to continue with procedure and began to wriggle himself out of his shell. Almost as soon as he did two guards appeared at his side and escorted him to the right, heading for the main security office.

"What now?" Donnie continued as Frank followed close behind, curiosity taking over the job at the moment.

"You're naked" Frank said as he twirled Donnie's stave in a lazy circle, pretending to be a ninja, "Public indecency."

"Public indecency!" Donnie screamed, "I told you, I'm a turtle! A fucking turtle, how else am I supposed to get through security?"

Frank shrugged, temporarily accepting the fact that Donnie was a mutated turtle and not a crazy guy in a turtle suit.

"Is your shell made of, lined with or otherwise consist of metal?" Frank asked inquisitively

Donnie nodded, "Yeah" he answered compliantly, "It has a metal lining inside-"

The escort reached the security office, the two guards shoved Donnie and his shell respectively inside, it was enough to send the turtle to the ground. They turned around and went back to their posts, leaving Frank to deal with the situation.

"Please continue" Frank ordered as he walked inside, closing the door behind.

Donnie huffed annoyingly as he stood up, carefully stooping down to pick up his shell.

"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted" Donnie began, "My shell has a metal lining inside, to keep me protected when I go into battle."

Frank laughed in disbelief, "Battle? What are you some kind of special forces?"

Donnie thought about his answer a few seconds before giving it, after seeing no way around his situation without digging a hole for himself, Donnie decided to simply tell the truth.

"My name is Donatello. I am ninja; my job sometimes requires me to go into dangerous situations and circumstances that involve combat."

Frank stared at Donnie confusingly, for his phrasing was off and overcomplicated. Donnie, recognizing this, decided to simplify things.

"I fight people" Donnie explained, "Seriously are you that stupid?"

Frank held the stave out in front of him as if he were presenting it, "Take the stave from my hands."

Donnie raised his eyebrows, having no idea as to what Frank was up to. Frank, seeing Donnie's confusion, elaborated.

"If you're a ninja" Frank continued, "Prove it. Take the stave from my hands."

Donnie straightened himself out; as far as he was concerned he didn't have to prove himself to anyone. Still, he thought that the least he could do was make a believer out of Frank Walters, so he did.

Before Frank could so much as blink, Donnie got down as low as he could to the ground and swept the guard's leg, causing Frank to drop the weapon only for Donnie to catch it before it hit the ground. For added measure, for Donnie assumed that anyone with enough practice could sweep a leg, he pole vaulted over Frank landing on the other side of the door. Donnie stopped and immediately went over his various exercises as fast as he physically could. Frank simply stared in awe, too amazed to even so much as speak. Everything was starting to come together- Donnie's appearance, minus the mask and traditional stave, was one of a warrior. Calm and composed, ready for anything that came his way. Even his face, which was normally soft with friendly undertones, was fierce and stoic, as if it were made of stone. The mask and stave, which completed the image, were only afterthoughts. Donnie finished by slamming his weapon on the ground as he knelt on one knee, he then began a short incantation.

"Father, I kneel at the feet of the righteous so that I may stand righteously, to protect and defend the weak so that they may become strong."

Standing up Donnie took off his mask and wiped sweat from his face off, after which he wrung it out and put it back on his face as if nothing happened.

"What was that?" Frank asked yet again, at the same time getting on Donnie's nerves.

Donnie shook his head annoyingly as he collected his bag, which was unceremoniously thrown in the corner of the room, spilling some of its contents out over the floor. Frank moved to assist, but was quickly shoved away, Donnie giving him an evil eye.

"Don't touch that" Donnie warned, "it's private."

Frank nodded in understanding and backed off, he watched slowly as Donnie carefully picked up each piece-the pack of cigarettes, the test tubes, the beakers and the Trojans, and placed them in the bag as if they each had significance. It was then that Donnie felt a tear on his cheek, for it was then that he realized he forgot the most important thing.

"Is something wrong?" Frank said, concern showing in his voice. Donnie only nodded in response.

"My brothers" Donnie replied, "I didn't bring a single picture. I guess I was in such a rush to leave, to start my own life that I forgot about the ones who got me to where I am."

Frank smiled in understanding, for he had heard similar experiences from various travelers, mainly immigrants, who came with nothing but the clothes on their back with no time to gather much in the way of personal belongings.

"You'll see them Donatello" Frank exclaimed encouragingly, "It may be years from now or in another life, but you will see them again, love has a crazy way of doing that for people."

Donnie nodded in agreement as he looked around awkwardly, unsure if it was polite to simply leave, then he remembered that the door was locked to begin with.

"Donatello huh?" Frank began after a few seconds, trying his best at small talk, "You got a shorter name, a nickname perhaps?"

Donnie laughed in response, for he was not about to allow a security guard to call him by his pet name, or any name other than his real one.

"Call me whatever you want" Donnie answered, "Just don't call me Don or Donnie, only my family and close friends call me that, you are not among them."

Frank smiled and nodded, giving Donnie a good look before deciding on a proper name.

"Stick" Frank exclaimed, "How about Stick?"

Donnie hung his head, for hearing the name only reminded him of Raph. Even so, it wasn't a name that Raph used often and so Donnie figured, he could answer to it for Frank's sake.

Once the name situation was out of the way, Frank walked towards the door and unlocked it, allowing Donnie to step through.

"Do you have a cell phone I can use?" Donnie asked, deciding to be somewhat polite for politeness' sake.

Frank immediately pulled out his phone and handed it to Donnie, who dialed Leo's number and waited patiently for a response. It picked up on the third ring.

Raphael was busy trying not to think. The last voicemail had been the fourth attempt at trying to reach Donnie. He was beginning to lose hope that he would ever see or hear him again. Leo and Mikey remained relatively oblivious to the situation, Raph not wanting to relay information without hearing Donnie's side of the story. Splinter however, already knew, he was just too busy grieving over it to be of any use.

April, who was sitting next to Raph on the living room couch, rested her head on Raph's shoulder and gently rubbed his shell.

"When are you going to tell them?" April asked curiously, "About us?"

Raph shook his head, his brain was already rattled with a thousand questions and he didn't need another one, especially one as meaningless, or seemingly meaningless, as the one April just asked. He would tell them in his own due time, when the situation with Donnie boiled itself over. Until that time, Raph rationalized, and correctly, that the worst thing they could do was bring up more news that would add unnecessary drama to an already dramatic situation.

"My brother is gone" Raph declared bluntly, "The others may not have felt it yet, but I swear to you in the next few days they will. Do you want to be the one who builds on that? Splinter already believes that just you being here is dangerous, if he were to ever find out about the engagement we'd be lucky if he kills us. No. I won't do that. Especially to Splinter, we keep quiet until Donnie gets back. When we know for sure what he's doing."

April rolled her eyes, "And what if he doesn't come back?" she asked, "What then?"

"We tell them the truth." Raph continued, "We tell them the truth and then we leave. We go as far away from this place as possible. We do what we said we were going to do. Get that nice cabin out in the woods, next to the lake, where we can fish all day and simply be together until we both die happily. "

Raph laughed at the suggestion, the concept of him being happy was a new one, one that he was unaccustomed to in most circumstances. It had always been, whenever Raph was in a particularly bad mood, that Donnie, in one way or another, found a way to cheer him up. Yet somehow, when Donnie was having a bad day, he had to suffer through it alone, the others, even Raph, paying as little attention as possible.

"We have a plan." Raph said encouragingly as April repositioned herself on the couch, comfortably lounging on Raph's shell. "You have your money from the station and I have mine from the odd jobs. I can put up myself for hire, become a mercenary, and make a lot of money to support a family if we decide that."

April smiled at the impossibility, for she knew that biologically that starting a family with Raph was nothing more than a pipe dream. That didn't change the fact that it was a nice one to think about. If anything, if it came to that, they would simply adopt.

" If Donnie doesn't come back, that's we do" Raph said finally, as if reiterating his statement would make it official, "Right away. No hesitation, no looking back, just like we planned."

Splinter appeared behind the couch, causing April to straighten herself out and for Raph to stand.

"Master Splinter" Raph began nervously, "It's not what it-"

Splinter raised his hand, stopping him.

"It was no secret between us that you and April were seeing each other" Splinter exclaimed, "This engagement however, is news indeed."

Raph slowly breathed a sigh of relief; it was short lived for Splinter slapped Raph as hard as he could in the face, leaving a faint impression on Raph's left cheek.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Splinter continued, his voice rising to its higher register, "Have you completely lost your mind? You're going to throw everything that we've worked for all because of some half witted bitch?"

April huffed, "Excuse me Master Splinter" she said butting in, "But I am not half witted. I am 100% witted and I will not take this sort of verbal abuse and neither will Raph. Face it rat, your boys are adults now, they can make their own decisions."

Splinter rolled his eyes, extremely annoyed, "As if you know anything about making decisions" he continued, "You're dating a mutated freak sweetheart, how is that a good decision?"

Raph unsheathed his sais and aimed their points at Splinter's neck, he was close to following through, cutting Splinter's throat and ending the rat's life. The only reason he didn't was because he sympathized with him, for if he were to leave, it would only be another crack in his heart, which might as well have been made of glass at this point.

"Master" Raph replied sternly, "You will not talk to her again. Not even if it's to say hello. You do, you die. I'm sorry, I hate to do this, it hurts me to tell you the truth, but I can't not have April. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me, and chances are she'll be the only thing that ever happens to me. I can't lose her Master. I can't, please try to understand."

Splinter remained motionless, saying nothing and taking Raph's words in.

"Love is the greatest weapon you can possess" Raph continued, "You said so yourself. I think it's safe to say that I'm using it well. This is happening weather you like it or not, I don't need your approval for anything."

Splinter nodded, "You're right Raphael" the rat said as he hung his head, "Of course you're right. I just...I just can't lose anyone else. I don't have much in the world without you boys, you know that. I guess I wanted to feel like I was making a difference, by having you stay in the sewers, protecting the city. But we'll just let Leonardo and Michelangelo deal with that eh? Go. Do what you will; if it's any consolation, you have my blessing and all the weight, if any, that it carries."

Raph lowered his weapons and slowly put them away. He then bowed respectfully and waited for Splinter to do the same. Instead, the rat broke down and embraced Raph as hard as he could.

"Make me proud son" Splinter exclaimed through his tears, "Know that whatever happens, you can always come back."

Raph said nothing as he broke away, slowly walking to Leo and Mikey to explain the situation. April meanwhile, gathered what things she had left in Raph's room and waited by the door.


End file.
